Hurricanes Re-Sign Ryan Suzuki To Two-Way Deal
The Hurricanes have re-signed center Ryan Suzuki to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced Wednesday. He avoids restricted free agency and will make $775K in the NHL and $70K in the AHL next year with a $90K guarantee.
The younger brother of Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has been in the Canes organization since they drafted him 28th overall in 2019. He signed his entry-level deal that summer, spending one season in juniors before graduating to professional play in 2020-21.
Suzuki hasn’t put up the offensive numbers worthy of an NHL call-up, though, and he’s remained entirely in the minors throughout his pro career. Unlike some other Hurricanes prospects, his development wasn’t completely derailed by their lack of a full-time AHL affiliate this season. He remained semi-productive while on loan to the Blues’ affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, posting 14 goals and 30 points in 51 games. That nearly mirrored his stat line with AHL Chicago the year prior, which were all career-highs at the time.
At 23 years old, there’s still a little time for Suzuki to shift his development into high gear and earn a roster spot down the line, but it likely needs to happen this season. The lack of game-breaking offense suggests a top-six role in the NHL is out of the question, but he likely still has a ceiling as a center on a depth scoring line thanks to his historically above-average passing ability. He’s unlikely to challenge for a roster spot in Carolina next fall, even with a fair amount of roster turnover expected, but a midseason call-up is an achievable goal.
Suzuki was not eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, but he will be when his new deal expires next summer. He’s still four years away from being eligible for standard unrestricted free agency. However, if he’s played less than 80 NHL games by the 2026 offseason, he’ll be eligible for Group Six UFA status then.
Adam Ruzicka Signs With KHL’s Spartak Moscow
Center Adam Ružička has signed with Spartak Moscow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, the team announced today on X. He joins the club on a one-year deal after having his contract terminated by the Coyotes in February after he posted a video of himself on his Instagram story showing him next to an unidentified white powdered substance, believed to be cocaine.
Ružička, 25, looked like he was on his way to becoming an NHL regular with the Flames after posting 20 points in just 44 games in the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, the 6’4″, 215-lb pivot couldn’t keep up the momentum this year, limited to three goals and nine points in 39 games before landing on waivers in January. The Coyotes claimed him, but an illness and work visa issues limited him to three appearances, going without a point and averaging just 8:17 per game, before the contract termination.
He wasn’t a highly-touted prospect, going 109th overall to Calgary in 2017, but he did have spectacular showings with the AHL’s Stockton Heat that got him into an extended NHL tryout three years after turning pro. The Slovak pivot put up 32 goals and 36 assists for 68 points in 98 games with Stockton over three campaigns there, including 11 goals and 20 points in just 16 games in his final minor-league stint in 2021-22. There’s a good amount of offensive skill in his game, but a surprising lack of physicality and aggression, given his frame, has limited his effectiveness defensively. This year, he had a 45.4 CF% and 39.5 xGF% at even strength across 42 games with the Coyotes and Flames.
Ružička is set to be a top-six force for Spartak, given his previous offensive effectiveness in minor-league and limited NHL roles. He joins a club with longtime NHLers Alex Kovalev and Alexei Zhamnov on its coaching staff. Their top forward, former Canucks and Sharks winger Nikolay Goldobin, tied for second in the KHL in scoring last season with 37 goals and 78 points in 67 games.
Canadiens Extend AHL Head Coach Jean-Francois Houle
May 29: The Canadiens confirmed a multi-year extension for Houle and the rest of his staff – assistant Martin Laperrière, goalie coach Marco Marciano and video coach Charles Juneau.
May 28: The Canadiens are signing AHL head coach Jean-François Houle to a multi-year contract extension, as reported by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (X link). It’s a three-year commitment, TFP’s Dennis Bernstein adds.
Houle, 49, has spent the last three years heading up the Canadiens’ top farm club, the Laval Rocket. The son of winger Réjean Houle, who won five Stanley Cups with Montreal, Jean-François began his coaching career as an assistant with Clarkson University in 2003 after a brief collegiate and minor-league playing career.
By 2010, he’d made the jump to head coaching in the major junior ranks, taking over the reins of the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the QMJHL. He won the QMJHL’s Coach of the Year award in 2011-12 behind the bench of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, guiding the expansion franchise to a 40-win inaugural season with a roster thin on NHL prospects, aside from future depth players Xavier Ouellet and Cédric Paquette.
Houle landed his first professional coaching job as an assistant with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors in 2014, staying on when they jumped to the AHL the following season to become the Oilers’ primary affiliate. He remained there until taking the head coaching job with Laval in 2021.
He’s guided the Rocket to a middling 105-86-25 record during his three seasons behind the bench. The team missed the playoffs this season for the third time in its seven seasons of existence. However, Houle did aid Habs prospects Logan Mailloux and Joshua Roy to AHL rookie seasons that exceeded expectations, earning them both their first NHL call-ups. They’ll be in contention for roster spots when October rolls around.
Montreal hopes Houle can continue doing the same work with their young players as they rely heavily on their development to exit their rebuild. 2023 fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher could very well end up starting next season under Houle on the farm as the defender begins his first full campaign in North America.
Adam Clendening, Vladimir Tkachev Sign In KHL
China-based Kunlun Red Star of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League announced today that they’ve signed right-shot defenseman Adam Clendening for the 2024-25 season (X link). He wasn’t the only former NHLer to extend his stay overseas, as the KHL’s Avangard Omsk also re-signed forward Vladimir Tkachev to a five-year deal, per the league. While the agreement extends a lengthy KHL resume for Tkachev, it will be Clendening’s second season overseas and his first in the KHL.
Clendening, 31, was once a decently high-value prospect with the Blackhawks after being taken in the second round of the 2011 draft, but never managed to land a role above a seventh defenseman at the NHL level. He appeared in parts of five seasons from 2014 to 2019, making brief stops with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Canucks, Coyotes, Oilers, Penguins, and Rangers before settling exclusively into a minor-league role shortly before the pandemic. Clendening was long an offensive force at the AHL level and put up decent numbers in his depth NHL minutes, totaling 24 points and a +11 rating in 90 career major-league appearances.
Since his last NHL appearance with Columbus in 2019, Clendening spent the next three seasons on two-way NHL contracts but didn’t receive any call-ups. After settling for an AHL contract in 2022-23, splitting the season between Rockford and Hartford, he opted to take his talents overseas for the first time. The New York-born blue-liner signed a one-year deal with Ilves in the Finnish Liiga, putting up eight goals, 20 assists and 28 points with 41 PIMs and a +9 rating in 40 showings. They opted not to retain him, though, and he now takes his talents to a Red Star team that’s failed to make the playoffs since its inaugural season in 2016-17. The team remains technically based in China but has played most of its games in Mytishchi, a suburb of Moscow, since the pandemic.
As for Tkachev, he’ll be a familiar name for Kings fans. They attempted to bring him over as an undrafted free agent in 2021, but he appeared in only four games, recording two assists, and spent most of the 2021-22 season on assignment to AHL Ontario. After failing to match his KHL production rate in the minors, they opted not to issue him a qualifying offer and let him become an unrestricted free agent, upon which he returned home. The 5’10” winger has since established his status as one of the best players in the league, leading to some spotty speculation that he would attempt an NHL comeback next season, but that won’t be the case. He had a career-high 75 points in 58 games with Omsk last year, serving as an alternate captain and ranking fifth in the league in scoring.
Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks
Free agency is now just a bit more than a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free-agent situation for the Canucks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Filip Hronek – Talk about an ideal contract year. After an injury-plagued stint in Vancouver to end last season following his acquisition from the Red Wings, Hronek began the season on the team’s top defense pairing alongside Quinn Hughes and never looked back. He recorded career highs with 43 assists, 48 points and a +33 rating, although, as critics point out, most of that production came on an early-season tear. The 26-year-old had three assists in 16 games after the trade deadline and was limited to a goal and an assist in 13 postseason games, both coming in Games 6 and 7 of their second-round loss to the Oilers. With reports indicating his ask is in the $8MM neighborhood annually, the Canucks are likely to shop his signing rights around with an unwillingness to dole out that kind of cash with the way he ended his season.
G Arturs Silovs – A couple of months ago, Silovs wouldn’t have had anything to do with a “key restricted free agents” moniker after serving as the club’s AHL starter for most of the campaign. However, injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith forced him into action for Game 4 of the first round against the Predators, and the 23-year-old Latvian remained in the crease for the rest of their playoff run. While Demko would have been an upgrade if available, Silovs was serviceable, posting a .898 SV%, one shutout and allowed 0.2 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. After posting a .898 SV% and 6-2-1 record in nine regular-season appearances over the last two seasons, he’s in line for a cheap deal to make him Demko’s full-time backup moving forward. Silovs, who led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championship, had a 2.74 GAA, .907 SV%, four shutouts and a 16-11-6 record in 34 games for AHL Abbotsford this season.
Other RFAs: D Nick Cicek, D Filip Johansson, F Linus Karlsson, F Aidan McDonough, D Cole McWard, D Jett Woo
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Ian Cole – While Cole had some notable individual blunders in the playoffs, he had a solid regular season in Vancouver that proved he’s still a fringe top-four blue liner as he enters his mid-30s. Much like his showing last season with the Lightning, he was a strong shutdown force, controlling 53% of expected goals at 5-on-5 despite 63.6% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end. Adding 11 points in 78 games as well, Cole is in line for a deal similar to the one-year, $3MM pact that brought him to the Canucks last summer. He turned 35 in February, so he can take a 35+ contract with performance bonuses to lower his cap hit artificially if Vancouver wants to bring him back but runs out of space. However, if he meets his performance bonuses and the Canucks can’t afford to accommodate them, they’ll be applied as a cap penalty in 2025-26.
F Dakota Joshua – A Maple Leafs draft pick back in 2014, Joshua has been on a steady rise since they moved his rights to the Blues shortly before the pandemic. He parlayed that into an everyday role with the Canucks upon reaching Group Six UFA status in 2022 and had a career year this season, posting 18 goals and 32 points in only 63 games while costing just $825K against the cap. He averaged solid third-line minutes at 14:23 per game and had nearly all of his production come at even strength, notching only one power-play point. The 28-year-old had positive relative possession numbers, too. Unfortunately, that means he’s one of the likelier candidates to have priced himself out of Vancouver, earning himself a multi-million dollar raise wherever he signs this summer.
F Elias Lindholm – The Canucks gave up quite a haul for Lindholm at the end of January, giving the Flames a large package that included a first-round pick and middle-six sniper Andrei Kuzmenko to acquire the 2022 Selke Trophy finalist. His performance in the regular season left much to be desired, potting only six goals and 12 points in 26 games after the deal. Still, he exploded back to form in the postseason with 10 points and a +4 rating in 13 games while logging nearly 20 minutes a night, tying for third on the club in scoring. That’s likely repaired a good chunk of his market value after having an extremely underwhelming contract year. After finishing the campaign with 44 points and a -14 rating in 75 games, he won’t command the upward of $8MM per season he left on the table for an extension in Calgary, but he should still get something in the $6MM-$7MM annually on a longer-term deal. Whether that comes in Vancouver or with one of his other expected suitors, namely the Bruins, remains to be seen.
D Tyler Myers – The final season of Myers’ bloated five-year, $30MM deal was his best hockey in Vancouver. He dropped down to a second/third-pairing role, averaging under 20 minutes per game for the first time in his lengthy career, but responded with 29 points and a 49.8% expected goals share at 5-on-5, his best as a Canuck. Vancouver and Myers would both like to see him back in a Canucks uniform next season, something they should be able to get done at a significant pay cut from his previous $6MM cap hit as he enters his age-34 season.
D Nikita Zadorov – Also an in-season trade pickup from Calgary, Zadorov quickly became a fan favorite in Vancouver and was, bar none, their second-best defenseman in the playoffs behind Quinn Hughes. The towering Russian rattled off four goals and eight points in 13 postseason contests, averaging over 20 minutes per game after logging 17:04 per game in the regular season after the trade. Reports indicate his camp is asking for a six-year deal at $6MM annually – likely too rich for the Canucks’ taste (or anybody’s taste, for that matter). If his camp gets the sense that he won’t be able to achieve that figure on the open market, it wouldn’t surprise anybody to see this generation’s Big Z end up back in Vancouver.
Other UFAs: F Teddy Blueger, G Casey DeSmith, F Sheldon Dries, D Mark Friedman, D Matt Irwin, F Sam Lafferty, G Zach Sawchenko
Projected Cap Space
The Canucks enter the summer with roughly $23.75MM in cap space. However,h they’re likely operating with an internal figure closer to $26.25MM with the final season of defenseman Tucker Poolman‘s contract slated for long-term injured reserve again in 2024-25. It’s a solid chunk of change – they’re still below the $64.7MM floor for next season – but the space will disappear quickly as they have likely $13-15MM committed to either re-signing Hronek and Lindholm or for their replacements.
Take another $5MM out for what Zadorov will likely command for an extension at this stage, and it’s clear not everyone on this list will be back next season. They have a solid chance of retaining most of their expiring talent, but whether they want to pay market value for someone like Lindholm or look for a more undervalued replacement on the open market remains to be seen. Expect General Manager of the Year Award finalist Patrik Allvin to be one of the busier GMs this offseason as he navigates what could be a fair amount of roster turnover for the defending Pacific Division champions.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Blackhawks Agree To Entry-Level Deal With Martin Misiak
The Blackhawks have signed forward Martin Misiak to a three-year entry-level contract, per a team announcement. His deal will count as $878.3K against the cap and keep him in the Hawks’ system through at least 2027.
Misiak, still just 19, was the last of three second-round selections Chicago made in last year’s draft at 55th overall. The stocky Slovak winger spent this season south of the border with the OHL’s Erie Otters, finishing sixth on the team in scoring with 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) in 60 games with a -14 rating.
He wasn’t drafted out of the OHL, though, meaning the NHL-CHL transfer agreement doesn’t apply to him, and he can be assigned to AHL Rockford full-time next season without issue. He split his draft year between HC Nove Zamky in the Slovak Extraliga and the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, leaving his home country midseason to make his North American junior debut.
It was somewhat of a rocky post-draft year for Misiak, who many viewed as a third- or fourth-round pick instead of a second-round selection. He did make his professional debut on a tryout contract with Rockford to end the season, posting a shot on goal in a 3-2 overtime win on April 21. He also represented his country at the 2024 World Juniors, posting three assists and a -4 rating in five games.
The 6’1″ sniper will attempt to fit in as one of the younger players in the Rockford lineup next season, turning 20 during training camp. He becomes the 30th player under contract for Chicago next season and will be a restricted free agent when his deal expires.
Oilers’ Troy Stecher Out For Season With Ankle Injury, Requires Surgery
While Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher hasn’t played in the postseason, it was widely assumed he’s been a healthy scratch. That isn’t the case, as Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 reports he’s out with an ankle injury and will require offseason surgery.
Stecher, 30, has sparingly practiced with the team since last dressing in their regular-season finale against the Avalanche over a month ago. The Oilers downgraded from a fourth-round pick to a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft to acquire him from the Coyotes at the trade deadline for added injury insurance on the blue line.
Unfortunately, he won’t get a chance to play in his first playoff contest since 2022 with the Kings. The Vancouver-area native had two assists and a +4 rating in seven games with Edmonton after the trade while averaging 16 minutes per game, proving he would have been a reliable option to insert into the playoff lineup if necessary.
It’s not good timing for offseason surgery for Stecher, who’s a pending unrestricted free agent after completing the $1.1MM deal he signed last summer. If he’s able to land another NHL deal and build on his 494-game career, he likely won’t sign until closer to training camps after rehabbing from his procedure – unless the Oilers opt to bring him back next season and re-sign him before July 1.
Stecher’s absence leaves 22-year-old Philip Broberg as the top option to enter the lineup if Edmonton loses a defenseman to injury or suspension. The 6’3″, 200-lb Swede was the eighth overall pick in 2019 and spent most of the season on assignment to AHL Bakersfield, where he excelled with 38 points and a +11 rating in 49 contests. He’s made 10 postseason appearances for the Oilers across their 2022 and 2023 runs but averaged just 6:31 per game.
Teams Interested In Acquiring Jet Greaves From Blue Jackets
AHL All-Star netminder Jet Greaves is heading toward restricted free agency this summer without a contract in hand, leading some teams to express interest in acquiring his signing rights from the Blue Jackets, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.
Greaves’ 2023-24 season was a breakout campaign for the third-year pro, who Columbus signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He excelled in the starting role for AHL Cleveland, posting a .910 SV% and 30-12-4 record in 46 games to guide the Monsters to their first playoff appearance in five years.
That showing earned the 23-year-old a bit of an extended NHL run when injured affected either Elvis Merzļikins or Daniil Tarasov. He made eight starts this season and one relief appearance, compiling an above-average .908 SV% with a 3.49 GAA. Despite his limited action, his 3.9 goals saved above expected led all CBJ netminders, per MoneyPuck.
He’s been even more lights-out with Cleveland during their Calder Cup Playoffs run, putting up a .951 SV%, 1.39 GAA and one shutout in six playoff contests thus far. The Monsters are 6-1 through their two best-of-five series wins, and Greaves is now gearing up for a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final against the regular-season champion Hershey Bears beginning Thursday.
It makes sense that there’s a fair amount of optimism that he could be ready for a full-time backup role as soon as next season. As of now, though, there’s not a clear path toward consistent playing time in Columbus, with Merzļikins and Tarasov both under contract. Merzļikins will be on the trade block this summer, but with three years remaining on his contract at a $5.4MM cap hit, it may be a challenge for incoming front-office hire Don Waddell to move him.
The Blue Jackets are at no risk of losing him for nothing – he’s an RFA, after all, and they’ll retain his signing rights with a qualifying offer next month. But if his trade market rises with a month to go until QOs are due, they’ll likely be able to fetch a decent trade return for his signing rights if he doesn’t want to stay in the Blue Jackets organization.
Kraken Promote Dan Bylsma To Head Coach
May 28: Bylsma was officially announced as the Kraken’s head coaching hire in a release on Tuesday. General manager Ron Francis issued the following statement on his hiring:
Dan is a winner with a proven track record of developing both young and veteran talent, and his leadership will help our team as we move forward. He has had success at every level, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, earning a Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach in 2011, and he led the Firebirds to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals last year in the team’s first season. He knows our franchise and has worked with several of our NHL players. We are excited to have him behind the bench and guiding our team next season.
May 27: The Kraken are expected to promote Dan Bylsma from their minor-league affiliate to fill their head coaching vacancy, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
Bylsma, who won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in his first season behind an NHL bench in 2008-09, has been with the Kraken organization since its inception. He served as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, whom they shared as their affiliate with the Panthers in their inaugural season, before being named the head coach of their current affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
After winning in Pittsburgh, he stayed on as their head coach until being fired after the 2013-14 season. He took one year off before landing his second NHL head coaching gig with the Sabres, a post he held for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.
The 53-year-old has a career regular-season record of 320-190-55 (.615 winning percentage), including a pair of sub-.500 seasons with the Sabres in the early days of their attempted Jack Eichel-led rebuild. He also had a strong 43-35 (.551) playoff record in his six seasons with the Pens, advancing past the first round four times.
Friedman indicated on Monday’s episode of “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” that things were trending toward Bylsma landing the gig. Kraken assistant Jay Leach was also reportedly being considered for an internal promotion, advancing along with Bylsma to the second round of interviews. Former Wild coach Dean Evason and ex-Kings bench boss Todd McLellan, who were both fired midseason, were also connected to the job as late as last week.
Bylsma takes over as the second head coach in franchise history. The Kraken relieved Dave Hakstol, who led them to one postseason appearance through their first three seasons, of his duties last month.
Unlike his days in Pittsburgh or Buffalo, Bylsma takes control over a roster without a star number-one center. Matthew Beniers may be on his way there after winning the Calder Trophy in 2023, but a difficult season production-wise (15 goals, 37 points in 77 games) this year has tempered expectations.
Perhaps no one will be more affected by Bylsma’s hiring than 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright. After a rocky draft year and a tumultuous 2022-23 campaign, the 20-year-old has excelled in Coachella Valley under Bylsma in his first professional season. The Ontario-born pivot had 47 points in 59 regular-season games and has added five points in six playoff games thus far.
Blues Sign Aleksanteri Kaskimaki To Entry-Level Deal
11:49 a.m.: Kaskimäki’s deal carries a cap hit of $870K, PuckPedia reports. It will be paid out via a base salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $95K, a potential games played bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K each season.
The Blues announced Tuesday that they’ve signed forward Aleksanteri Kaskimäki to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Kaskimäki, 20, was the 73rd overall selection in the 2022 draft by St. Louis and has spent the two years since developing in his native Finland. All of the 6-foot, 192-lb center’s professional experience has come with the Liiga’s HIFK, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 93 games dating back to his debut in the 2021-22 campaign.
2023-24 was a solid campaign for Kaskimäki, who managed to hit the 10-goal mark in 48 games despite being limited to bottom-six minutes, receiving customarily low usage for developing prospects in European pro leagues. The Espoo native is good at using his speed to carry the puck through the neutral zone and has an accurate shot, something the Blues hope leads to good possession play and decent depth scoring in a bottom-six role down the line.
Kaskimäki was on Finland’s roster for the past two World Junior Championships. He had two goals and two assists in seven games at the 2024 event after going pointless in five games the year prior, although the Finns failed to medal in back-to-back years for the first time since 2017 and 2018.
He’s still likely a ways away from cracking an NHL roster. Since he was under contract with HIFK next season, he could very well spend 2024-25 on loan to his Finnish club. His ELC will run out after the 2026-27 campaign, and he’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry.